Huang Po,
One of the most influential of Chinese Zen masters.
I read to you my simplified version of his writing.
Listen to it for five minutes with closed eyes and meditation will happen on its own.
The master said to me,
All Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the one mind.
Beside this one mind,
Nothing exists.
This mind has no beginning.
It is unborn and indestructible.
It is not green or yellow.
It has no form,
No appearance.
It does not belong to what exists or does not exist.
It cannot be thought of as new or old.
It is neither long nor short,
Neither big nor small,
Because it transcends all limits,
All measures,
All names and all comparisons.
You glimpse this mind before you reason,
And the moment you reason,
You fall into error.
It is like boundless space,
Impossible to measure,
Impossible to grasp.
The one mind alone is the Buddha.
There is no separation between Buddha and sentient beings,
But sentient beings cling to forms,
And so they search outwardly for Buddhahood.
By searching,
They lose it.
They use Buddha to look for Buddha.
They use mind to grasp mind.
Even if they strive for an entire aeon,
They will not attain it.
They do not realize that when conceptual thinking stops and anxiety is forgotten,
The Buddha appears right where they are.
The mind is the Buddha,
And the Buddha is all living beings.
It is not diminished when expressed as ordinary beings.
It is not greater when expressed as Buddhas.
Practices,
Perfections,
And countless methods are not additions.
You are already complete.
When action is needed,
Act.
When action is finished,
Rest.
If you are not fully convinced that mind itself is Buddha and you cling to forms,
Practices or merit,
Your thinking is misaligned with the way.
There are no other Buddhas.
There is no other mind.
Mind is bright and spotless,
Like open space.
To think conceptually is to leave the essence and cling to appearances.
The ever-present Buddha is not found in form nor in stages.
Awakened to this one mind,
Nothing needs to be attained.
This is the real Buddha.
The Buddha and all beings are the one mind,
Nothing else.
Mind is like space,
Unconfused,
Untainted.
When the sun rises,
Space does not become brighter.
When the sun sets,
The space does not grow dark.
Light and darkness change.
Space remains.
So,
It is with the mind of Buddhas and beings.
If you imagine Buddha as pure and bright,
And beings as dark or impure,
You are caught in form.
Such thinking blocks realization for countless aeons.
There is only one mind.
Not even the smallest thing exists apart from it.
If you do not awaken to this,
You cover mind with concepts.
You search outside yourself and you cling to practices.
This is not the way.
Offering to all Buddhas is not equal to honoring one who has dropped conceptual thinking.
You may ask why?
Because such a one forms no concepts at all.
The absolute is still within,
Like wood or stone,
Unmoving.
And outwardly,
It is like open space,
Without boundary,
Without obstruction.
It is neither subject nor object.
It has no location.
It is beyond time and space.
Those who approach it through thinking hesitate.
They stand at the edge and retreat,
Afraid of falling into groundlessness.
Those who seek through thought are many.
Those who know directly are a few.
Buddhas and beings do not differ.
Drop conceptual thinking and everything is accomplished.
Strive for ages with concepts and nothing is gained.
When the realization comes suddenly or gradually,
The result is the same.
There are no degrees in being.
Long paths only add unnecessary struggle,
Good and bad.
When clung to,
Both bind.
Sudden realization is freedom.
This dharma is mind.
Beyond it,
There is nothing.
Mind is not a thing.
Yet,
It is not nothing.
Let understanding be silent.
Let explanation fall away.
When words end,
Mind is revealed.
This mind is the Buddha's source,
Present in all beings.
Differences arise only from mistaken thinking.
Your original nature is empty,
Vast,
Silent,
Pure.
Peaceful joy,
Nothing more,
Nothing less.
Awaken to what is already here,
Utterly complete.
Even countless stages add nothing.
Realization reveals what was never absent.
All efforts before this was like work done in a dream.
The Buddha said,
I attained nothing because nothing was ever missing.
Pure mind is the source of everything.
It shines by itself.
But people mistake perception for mind.
If conceptual thinking stops,
Even for a moment,
This source shines.
Like the sun in open space,
Nothing blocks it.
Like the sun in open space,
Do not cling to perceptions.
Do not reject them.
They neither contain mind nor stand apart from it.
Above,
Below,
And around you,
Nothing exists outside Buddha mind.
The body is not the self.
The mind is not the self.
Senses,
Perceptions,
And objects are empty.
Only mind remains,
Limitless and pure.
To see what your own mind is,
Buddha.
With nothing to attain,
Nothing to do,
This is the supreme way.
Guard against a single thought that divides.
Moment to moment,
No grasping.
That is Buddhahood.
